Back slang
Back slangis anEnglishcoded languagein which the written word is spokenphoneticallybackwards.
Usage
[edit]Back slang is thought to have originated inVictorianEngland. It was used mainly by market sellers, such asbutchersandgreengrocers,for private conversations behind their customers' backs and to pass off lower-quality goods to less-observant customers.[1]The first published reference to it was in 1851, inHenry Mayhew'sLondon Labour and the London Poor.[1]Some back slang has entered Standard English. For example, the termyobwas originally back slang for "boy". Back slang is not restricted to words spoken phonemically backwards. English frequently makes use ofdiphthongs,which is an issue for back slang since diphthongs cannot be reversed. The resulting fix slightly alters the traditional back slang. An example istrousersand its diphthong,ou,which is replaced withwoin the back slang versionreswort.[1]
Back slang is said to be used inprisonsbyinmatesto make it more difficult forprison wardensto listen into prisoners' conversations and find out what is being said.
In 2010, back slang was reported to have been adopted for the sake of privacy on foreign tennis courts by the young English playersLaura RobsonandHeather Watson.[2]
Other languages
[edit]Other languages have similar coded forms but reversing the order ofsyllablesrather than phonemes. These include:
- Frenchverlan,in which e.g.français[fʁɑ̃sɛ] becomescéfran[sefʁɑ̃];
- Frenchlouchébem,which relies on syllables inversion too, but also adds extra syllables;
- Greekpodana[3](e.g. the wordβυζίbecomesζυβί[4]);
- IsiXhosa&isiZuluIlwimi/Ulwimi used mostly by teenagers, often called "high school language";
- Japanesetougo(Đảo ngữ), wheremorasof a word are inverted and vowels sometimes become long vowels (hara,“stomach”, becomesraaha);
- RomanianTotoiana,in which syllables of Romanian words are inverted so that other Romanian speakers can not understand it;[5][6][7]
- Lunfardo,aSpanishargotspoken inArgentina,includes words invesre(fromrevés,literally "backwards" );
- Šatrovački,aSerbo-Croatian-Bosnianslang system;
- 19th centurySwedish(e.g. the wordfika,which means approximately "coffee break" ).
- Sheng(e.g.ngwarebecomesrengwa)
See also
[edit]- Costermonger(British street vendors from whom back slang originates)
- Pig Latin
References
[edit]- ^abcSullivan, Dick (January 23, 2007)."Earth Yenneps: Victorian Back Slang".The Victorian Web.RetrievedApril 19,2017.
- ^Cambers, Simon (January 25, 2010)."Laura Robson reveals the benefits of talking in tongues on tour".The Guardian.
- ^Pan, Paul (January 29, 2016)."B – bye, Felicia".Slangopedia.
- ^Pan, Paul (January 29, 2016)."ζα – ζωντόβολο".Slangopedia.[user-generated source]
- ^Realitatea TV (January 19, 2009)."În localitatea Totoi, județul Alba, se vorbește o limbă specifică locului".Realitatea TV(in Romanian).
- ^Arsenie, Dan (December 9, 2011)."Totoiana – messengerul de pe uliță. Povestea unei limbi inventate de români".Great News(in Romanian).
- ^AGERPRES(November 2, 2009).""Limba intoarsă" vorbită în Totoi ".Ziare(in Romanian).
External links
[edit]
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